"There was a report that they said that [Obama's] campaign would be based upon a strategy of trying to 'kill Romney.' And that's what they're trying to do," Romney said Friday in an interview with ABC News. "He sure as heck ought to say he's sorry for the kinds of attacks that are coming from his team. It's very disappointing on his part."– Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker

Obama stood by his criticism of Romney at the Saturday rally, including calling out Romney's experience at the financial firm he founded and led for more than a decade, Bain Capital.

"Mr. Romney has got a different idea. He invested in companies that have been called pioneers in outsourcing," Obama said. "I don't want a pioneer in outsourcing. I want some in-sourcing."

He hit Romney for a platform of "tax cuts for the wealthy, roll back regulations."

"My opponent and his allies in Congress, they believe in a top-down economics," Obama said. "They believe that if we spend trillions of dollars on tax cuts mostly for the wealthy - even if we have to pay for it by gutting education or gutting job training programs or gutting investments in basic research or turning Medicare into a voucher system or increasing middle class tax increases - that if we do that somehow all of you are going to benefit.

"But here's the problem," he continued. "We tried it for a decade before I took office. It did not work."

Romney responded to a particularly biting attack - that he may either be guilty of a felony or of lying to the American public - by asking in his CNN interview, "is that really what's expected from the campaign of the sitting president of the United States?"

"Is this the level that the Obama campaign is willing to stoop to? Is this up to the standards expected of the presidency of the United States," he asked. "It's disgusting; it's demeaning; it's something which I think the president should take responsibility for and stop."

Asked about the tone of recent campaign rhetoric, Obama campaign press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Saturday that "the president does focus his remarks on laying out the vision - the differing visions that he has from Mitt Romney for the country. What he wants to do for health care, what he wants to do for the economy, what he wants to do for education.

"Of course the president wants to have a highbrow debate about these policy issues and what the American people actually care about. We know that Mitt Romney is leading with his business credentials as his top qualification for being president," Psaki said, adding that Obama's campaign believes it is "completely justified to raise questions... about why [Romney] had an account in Switzerland, why he had investments in the Cayman Islands, what exactly this corporation was in Bermuda."

At his rally, Obama said that his opponent will "use all those scary voices in the ads."

As for his own ads, one released Saturday morning by Team Obama has just one voice: Romney singing "America, the Beautiful" at a January campaign rally as a list of foreign countries the Obama campaign says he shipped or outsourced jobs to or stored portions of his financial portfolio ticks by.

soundoff(41 Responses)

DrCole

President Obama, since you are "head of the executive branch", if what your campaign officials is true and Romney "committed a felony"...then you must for the sake of the office of the President ask Mr Holder to charge Romney with the felony that your team says he is guilty of. Please do this sir...or are the charges levied from your team nothing but lies themselves???

President Obama dont apologize to crybaby Romney fair fight. Romney attack Newt, Santorum, Perry in the last election.
Romney the true must be heard about Bain and your Taxes.
Everybody is finding out the true about Romney.
Romney you running for president not class president, everything come to the open in president election.

July 14, 2012 03:48 pm at 3:48 pm |

Independent from NH

Keep the attacks up Obama. It has been proven time and again that negative attacks are successful . If you don't hammer at him repeatedly and then still kick him when he's down he and his global financial contributors to his SuperPac (i.e., China) will do everything in their power to see that you fail. This must not happen. America is a beautiful, wonderful country with so much opportunity. That opportunity is being strangled by the neck by a select 2% of the elite in this country who have absolute power. The dems and the independents must use their power, that is, their vote, to keep these people, these republicans, from further eroding our dominance in the world. We must vote Obama. Because not everyone cares just for themselves.

July 14, 2012 03:56 pm at 3:56 pm |

Terri

This coming from the guy that tore apart his rivals in the Repub primary? Outspent by millions not caring what was said – yeah sure – President Obama should APOLOGIZE.....righhhhhhhhhhhhhhttttttttttt!

July 14, 2012 04:00 pm at 4:00 pm |

jack878

Obama has to attack because he can't run on his record. 4 more and we will be Greece.

July 14, 2012 04:03 pm at 4:03 pm |

Debby

So is this why Obama continued on with the Bush tax cuts. This man is so out of touch its amazing that people voted for him.

July 14, 2012 04:08 pm at 4:08 pm |

lies from obama(and mabye his father)

Obama is now a unapologetic lying, inexperienced, narsassistic, out-of-touch, hapless, goofball, union president who wrecked the economy. The only way he could get any worse is if he started adopting EU policies..oh,wait, he is. Obama 2012- the worst way forward!

July 14, 2012 04:08 pm at 4:08 pm |

Kate

OBAMA 2012! An HONEST vision for Americans! Thank you for the ACA! After 3 declines for health insurance in the last 3 months I got a letter from Blue Cross today accepting me! No more free loaders. Be responsible America!

Does any hypocritical republican remember the negetivity that was McCains with effigies of an Obama tribesman hanging in a tree or other racial profanities being used publicly showing really how low these republican pigs really are...You republicans claim innocence like McCain and Palin until videotapes were released on CNN and other stations that made intelligent people gasp ,something they haven't seen with this racially disgusting action since the 50's-60's in Alabama and other racially charged states in the south.Romney wants to play boyscout when it was he who ran the dirty,negetive ads against his republican challengers during the primaries just recently,wasn't it him or do you republicans have selective memory ?How come Romney doesn't have his replacement CEO come out from Bain and put the supposid lies to rest,if there is a supposid replacement right!!Why not go back twelve years like his father on his tax returns,he showed McCain twenty or more years in 2008 when McCain was looking him over for VP and he didn't get the job then,did he!! Romney is just a wolf in Mormon clothing ,a pathological liar,lost in his own delushional world of being head of everything ,but only if he buys it.But ya know what republicans,1600 Pennsylvania Ave isn't for sale to Romney or any of you,only presidents that for the people need apply,not your corporate minions....

Obama lies and hides the truth about himself. Why not his spotless opponent?

July 14, 2012 04:29 pm at 4:29 pm |

Gigi

The so-called report about "killing Romeny" was started by your wife Mr. Romney. She was the one to utter those words. We are not stupid nor forgetful.

July 14, 2012 04:31 pm at 4:31 pm |

A. J.Perea

KEEPING IT THOUGHTFULLY HONEST: So let's be clear, Romney now says he “only had ownership of his company that he created (that was outsourcing our American jobs to Communist China!” Does that mean that he was only concerned about collecting his money regardless of what the company was doing? Romney keeps insulting the intelligence of thinking Americans! He keeps bring into questions this own integrity by his inconsistent statements with his past record! And expects Us to have confidence to vote for him! Really?

July 14, 2012 04:31 pm at 4:31 pm |

Bill from GA

Why does Romney think it is OK to say one thing to the SEC and another to the voters?

Why doesn't Romney release more years of his tax returns and let the voters judge for themselves based on accurate data? (If he lied to the SEC, he probably lied to the IRS.)

Why does he want to cut taxes for the rich, when he only pays 14% already? And that is for the year he chose to show us.

July 14, 2012 04:37 pm at 4:37 pm |

Marry

After all the insults the GOP in general, the tea party, in Congress, in the Senate, in speeches, in town meetings, in the GOP primaries, all the GOP “candidates” and in the front line of them all Mr. Romney, against a rightfully elected President, the work of the President, the life of the President who has like no other the genuine intention to work hard every day to make the life of the American people better, they really have nerve to ask:” Is this the level that the Obama campaign is willing to stoop to?”
The GOP has been the party of “NO” for over a decade now, enriching themselves and running the US into a ditch. They should shut up as long as they have done NOTHING positive for the American people to show for with their envy, their arrogance, and there goal from day one “…to make him fail”!
But he has not failed the American people at all! Despite the obstruction of the GOP, he has done much better than one could have ever expected! Thank you Mr. President for not giving up! Thank you very much! We will remember in November and suport you the way you suport us!!!